2017.44.1

Colour photograph of the captain and crew of the Queen Mary cruise ship with a wreath commemorating the wrecking of the destroyer HMS Sturdy on rocks at Sandaig during WWII.

Organised by Commander Michael Gibson of Plymouth, the wreath was thrown overboard in the summer of 2015 as the Queen Mary cruised past the Hebrides. HMS Sturdy foundered during a storm in October 1940. Five lives were lost, but were it not for the actions of Tiree folk, in particular Captain Donald Sinclair, the toll would have been much higher. The dedication on the wreath reads: “Dedicated to the bravery of Captain Donald Sinclair and those who helped in the rescue effort of HMS Sturdy and in remembrance of all those lost on Empire Eland in 1941”. Captain Sinclair was on the Empire Eland when it was torpedoed by a U-boat in the Atlantic.

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